Summer Rendezvous
by kunoichi's diary
Summary: They may not have realized it, but they were similar in more things than one. AU (Reiko and Matoba are both teenagers)


**Summer Rendezvous**

* * *

Summary: They may not have realized it, but they were similar in more things than one.

A/N: This is my first NY fic and I thought I'd experiment on an unconventional pairing here. I hope it worked though I set it in a rather alternate universe (or timeline, to be exact) to bring out a spark on these two lonely (supposedly) teenagers. Matoba here may seem to be only an exorcist-in-training and therefore still not tainted with his sexy evilness.

Disclaimer: Midorikawa-sensei owns Natsume Yuujinchou and its heart-warming stories.

* * *

Matoba Seiji had just turned 15 a few weeks ago. His family had taken pride of their young master's journey in becoming the next leader of their clan. They envisioned him to master all of the clan's exorcist spells and techniques and continue on their legacy left in the youkai world. Seiji, despite being quite an exorcist prodigy himself, was a little overwhelmed of the expectations laid upon him.

In a few more months, he would be bind by the responsibilities of a leader of the Matoba clan, to hunt down youkai with his shiki. However, a small part of him wasn't ready yet and he's still uncomfortable with the presence of his shiki.

One quiet afternoon, just after his classes, Seiji walked along the hallway towards the exit. He didn't have friends to begin with. His classmates would quickly avoid looking directly at him and would scurry off the opposite direction. They whispered, quietly, but nonetheless heard. Seiji was alone, but he didn't mind. It was easier that way.

He trudged down the eastern forest to practice his archery and perception. He was told that he would have his right eye covered from the youkai who's after the eye of the Matoba. Unconsciously, he placed his hand on his face to see if the eye was still intact.

He took the first arrow and shot at the aim hidden near the base of the canopy. It was a nice shot, using both of his eyes. But uncertainty was creeping inside. He feared that his reliance with his eyes would cost him too much in the future.

An eerie wind blew on his short jet black hair and the leaves rustled, echoing a girl's faint laughter.

And that's when he first saw her: a skinny girl with long sandy blonde hair dancing around a whirl of leaves with a baseball bat. That would be the perception of a normal human being. Except he wasn't normal and she was enjoying fighting off low level ayakashi.

* * *

The second time he saw her was when she rose through numerous tree branches to pick up a handful of ripe mangoes at the top. As she did so, she was carefully cradled by a big hand with arms and body concealed behind the wide canopy. He was awed, as he hid behind a nearby tree. He was stunned to see that the girl had an enormous shiki at her disposal. That would make her a threat to him and his clan. Despite his uneasiness with his shiki, Seiji wished that he had them nearby.

"Oi watch out!"

Before Seiji could register what was happening, his head was knocked off by a scrumptious piece of mango.

"I told you to watch out, didn't I?"

As he pulled himself together, not letting his annoyance get the better of his relaxed state, Seiji looked up to see the girl in the big hand nowhere near the branches.

"I'm right here, you idiot."

His red eyes met her amber ones as he gazed at the figure in front of him. Now that he had the chance to look at the strange girl, he took note of her sharp face framed by her hair. Like him, she was clothed in her school uniform; however it was dirtied and torn. She had made her long skirt a makeshift basket for the mangoes she picked. But the most fascinating about her was her eyes, slitted like a fox's and light like an ayakashi's.

"Stop staring. What's your name?"

Her voice, unlike most teenage girls, was not soft and was not covered with honey. Her's was strong and demanding.

But it didn't shake off Seiji's calm exterior. He wouldn't be pissed off that easily. "Why should I tell you my name?"

The girl made a disapproving face and held out a mango towards him. "My friend said to give this to you, he said you looked hungry."

Seiji reluctantly took the fruit, unable to give his full trust to a total stranger. And as he felt the weight of the mango on his hand, he heard her whisper, "You saw him, right?"

But before he could muster a response, the girl turned around and walked away with her bunch of mangoes. "It's okay if you don't want to tell your name. I hope we won't see each other again."

What a weird girl, he thought. But despite her oddity, Seiji found himself hoping for them to meet again.

* * *

The third time he saw her was when the light of her mirror nearly blinded him. He saw her situated on a branch of a low tree, holding out a compact mirror to her right cheek. He gazed at the petite figure above him, wondering why she kept on staying in eastern forest.

"I didn't think we would see each other again." The girl smiled as she turned her face towards him, revealing a shade of purple on her right cheek. Stunned by the sight, Seiji swallowed back what he was supposed to say.

"You don't talk much, do you?" The girl jumped down from the tree. Seiji examined her and noticed more bruises on her arms. He smirked before retorting, "Well I wouldn't want to get close to a youkai who likes to pick on fights, would I?"

Seiji saw her brows furrowed. "How rude. I'm a human like you." She then pointed to her bruised cheek. "And this happened to be done by people who don't understand." She folded her arms across her chest but the friction between her wounds made her wince in pain.

Seiji quickly walked towards her and fished out a small container from his pocket. She backed away and was about to run when he sternly told her to sit down so that he could treat her. He opened the container and lightly applied on her skin the ointment inside.

The ointment was given to him by his mother to ease the pain that would be inflicted to his eye in the near future. It frightened him that despite the fact his family can foresee the danger that would happen to their young master, they just simply accepted it like it was bound to happen. It was disappointing and frustrating at the same time.

The girl didn't say anything as he treated her arm bruises. He also had this kind of bruises more than once, wounds inflicted by people who called him strange lying boy. He was shunned away by people who were unable to see things he did.

Seiji's hand motioned to her right cheek. And as he did so, he whispered, "It's Seiji. My name's Seiji."

This girl may be the same as him. She may be someone who can finally see the same scenery.

"Thank you, Seiji."

* * *

The fourth time he saw her was when she introduced herself as Reiko. She had her baseball bat with her and her hair was evidently disheveled from another youkai fight. Apparently the ayakashi she had been with fought a lot against her, with no shiki by her side at all.

They spent the day minding their own business: Reiko with her bat swings and Seiji with his archery.

* * *

The tenth time was a quiet afternoon between them and in the entire forest. They didn't talk much like other teenagers and they rather enjoyed the silence coupled with the occasional sound of the cicadas under a wide tree. Sunlight peeked through the canopy and bathed the teens with its warm sensation.

* * *

The eighteenth time he saw her flipping through an odd book entitled Book of Friends. He didn't ask; the exorcist scrolls he was reading may be as strange to her as her book was to his.

* * *

The twenty-second time he saw her gazing up from an old small bridge in the middle of the forest, sighing heavily. Seiji decided to go back and let her be. But before he turned away, he thought he saw something glistening running down her cheeks.

* * *

The twenty-fifth time he saw her playing, crouched down a shallow stream at the edge of the forest. He saw her cupping the fresh water with her hands before running it down her slender arms, smiling. Seiji thought he never saw anything that beautiful.

* * *

The thirty-second time she startled him by nearly hitting him with an orange. This time, Seiji caught it with ease.

* * *

The thirty-seventh time he was the one covered with bruises from school. She didn't ask him why or how; she just tore out a piece of her handkerchief to cover the bleeding wound on his left palm.

* * *

The forty-first time he woke up from his light nap and opened his eyes to see her gentle face gazing down at him. His breath hitched and immediately sat up to regain composure. He heard her laugh and later on he joined her. The sound of their laughter had made a melody Seiji wished he could record.

* * *

The fifty-ninth time their summer term ended. He asked her if she, by any chance, wanted to come with him to his clan, to feel belonged and accepted. However she sadly smiled and refused.

That's when Seiji realized she was different from him, who was bound by expectations and duties. She, on the other hand, was free and independent, having the whole world unravel its mysteries to her.

He openly accepted her response, understanding their difference despite having the same ability. However he decided to spend this one last day with Reiko just as any quiet day he had grown to enjoy.

"Why don't you have these mangoes I picked a while ago?" He offered her a handful of fruits with a smile. And as he felt her fingers on his rough hands, he noticed that her touch lingered a bit longer than normal.

Because on that one summer afternoon, they were just two teenagers caught up in the moment, forgetting hostile stares and whispers gone a little bit unnoticed, savoring a rare warm feeling in the secluded forest.

* * *

A/N: I'm so ambitious that I wanted this pairing to be canon (well, at least in my fantasies). Tell me your thoughts about this unusual pairing! :)


End file.
